NIH R01 · 2024
Genetic and environmental factors affecting alternative lengthening of telomeres
Telomeres protect chromosome ends in eukaryotes. In the absence of telomerase, telomeres shorten, which eventually leads to senescence. A minority of cells, however, can escape senescence and stabilize telomeres by a recombination process called Alternative Lengthening of Telomeres (ALT). ALT is responsible for telomere maintenance in ~15% of cancers, but it also contributes to stabilization of telomeres in aging or stem cells. Thus, understanding the ALT mechanism is important to identify factors that can influence whether and how it occurs. It is also well known that exposure to various environmental stressors and air toxins influence all aspects of telomere biology and promote…
From the public funding record at NIH RePORTER. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.